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“Ready to see Moni?” I ask, giving him a smile.
“You bet. I should have waited like you suggested. I guess our bond isn’t that strong yet,” Chester admits as his shoulders drop.
“You’re also in Hell. I don’t expect it’s easy on the senses either, so don’t beat yourself up.” I smile and start walking toward the Parlor. “Let L.A.M.B. do that. Apparently, they’re itching to do it,” I mumble under my breath.
CHAPTER 9
Hell’s Angel
Rez
We don’t even get within five feet of the archway when Chester goes running into the Parlor. I probably should have gone in first, to tell them about Chester and Knots, but I’m feeling a little salty at the moment, so I let it play out. I pull on Knots' arm because I’m sure things are going to blow up. L.A.M.B. is still in there, and if they see Chester running in, they might get defensive with a strange man running into their home. And with Moni being protective of Chester, well, that’s probably not a good outcome.
To be on the safe side, I wait a bit and am not disappointed. Within a few seconds, I hear Moni yell out Chester’s name while Bez asks who Chester is, followed by a scuffle of activity. I make out JP and Zeke’s voices as they yell “stop” right before Moni’s shockwave hits the wall, blocking us.
Groans and moans reach my ears as we walk into the Parlor and find everything in disarray. The seats that most of L.A.M.B. and Lilith occupied last are overturned, and the occupants are quite dazed themselves. I do a little internal dance as Lilith pulls herself from the floor and tries to straighten out her hair.
Levi is using his magic to restore the room, starting with the knickknacks that fell from the bookcases and then the chess pieces from the back area. Knox cracks his neck before sitting back on the sofa, and Ryker helps Zeke off the floor. I find Chester and Moni in a tight embrace, paying no one else any attention, and I don’t blame her.
JP pulls himself to his hands and knees and glares directly at me. “You did that on purpose,” he accuses.
“I’m not dumb enough to upset Moni, but I knew L.A.M.B. would be,” I admit as I chuckle. The asshole I heard push Moni too far pulls himself off the ground and retakes his seat. Bez gives Moni an assessing look, and for a moment, I find myself worried about my best friend. That is, until I find Bez giving her a small nod and his eyes turn thoughtful.
Lucifer straightens out his jacket and runs his fingers through his hair before facing Moni and Chester. “I apologize. I did not know he was your mate.” He looks glaringly over in my direction, and I blink my innocent eyes at him. “Nor did I feel him or your companion come through any of my wards.”
“Wow. You must need to get your wards fixed. Sounds like a you problem,” I say, pulling Knots along with me to the sofa.
“Hello, Knots. Nice to see you outside of the dorm,” Levi says as we pass him to sit on the sofa.
“Same. I’ve always wanted to travel,” Knots jokes.
“Hey, Knots. Nice to officially meet you, man!” Zeke says, holding out his fist for a pound. I sit down next to Zeke once more on the sofa, but this time JP is between Zeke’s legs while Ryker moves between mine, and Knots sits next to me.
“So does this mean all Door Knights have real life bodies like you?” Knox asks, handing me a bottle of water. I give him my thanks, and he sits down, leaning against Levi’s chair. I’m curious to know the answer myself.
“To be honest, yes. But I had thought we lost our ability to be pulled from our doors until Rez here pulled me out.” He shifts a little as he answers honestly. Picking up on him being uncomfortable talking about himself, I try to sway the attention from him and bring it back to the room itself.
“So, what did I miss while I was away?” I ask, trying to act like I didn’t run off like a scared little girl. Yes, I needed the moment to myself, but that doesn’t mean I want to revisit the reason I ran off in the first place.
Ryker clears his throat and turns to face me. I go taut as he looks up at me, and I watch his Adam’s apple bob in his throat.
“Rez, that day you went flying with Knox and most of us went to the cooking contest… I think I ran into your mother. I didn’t think much of it until, uh, Mom and you got into it.”
I gasp as I stare at him and slowly pan the room. No one is laughing or trying to hide secret smiles, so… fuck.
“JP said that can’t be true since you said she was murdered, but I can see through glamours and this person didn’t have one. She resembled you.” He reaches up and grasps my knee, lightly squeezing it. “She even said she knew me and told me to keep you safe, specifically, and that her body wasn’t her own.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” I squeak. I’m not sure what to believe or think right now, but I feel like I should at least be asking questions.
“When we got the call that you and Knox were hurt and were in the hospital, I had completely forgotten.” He bows his head. “We wouldn’t bring it up with you right now if we could avoid it, especially after the whole emotional upheaval, but Lynx couldn’t remember your mother, only his own parents. I’m sorry,” he admits.
“It’s okay.” I smile down at him before taking a moment to breathe. “It’s not your fault. We’ve been through a lot lately. And to be honest, I really doubt it’s my mother. Unless a Necromancer went to Earth and reanimated her, she’s at rest 6 feet under.” Knots squeezes my hands, and I give him a reassuring smile before turning to Lynx.
“Just to play the Devil’s advocate,” Levi says and looks to Lucifer. “No offense.”
“None taken,” Lucifer waves it off with a bored look.
“Then why would this random lady warn Ryker to protect you and tell us there’re more players on the field than what we know?” Levi asks.
